Our simple girl

From Santa, Esther received this really cute Little People's Noah's Ark set with Noah and his wife and some animals, as well as her Grandma and Grandpa giving her additional sets of animals...needless to say, she has quite a few. She loves it, but of all the adorable lions and zebras and giraffes and peacocks and camels and so on and so on...guess what?? Esther plays with the plain old feed boxes. We will put the ark on the floor and she will dump out the whole ark looking for them. It almost to the point I want to hide them so she is forced to play with the animals..but she is SO dang happy just playing with those orange and blue boxes.....she's a simple girl. ~ Kin

update

Progress

Just wanted to share with y'all how our addition is coming along. Some of our roof is torn off..makes it a bit colder in the house, but no biggie. They got the patio poured and all the framing up (I don't have pics of that, but I will post as soon as I do). It's starting to feel like a room...wooohoo!! Can't wait. ~ Kin

It was a B-E-A-utiful day

Well, it's over and I couldn't be more bummed....I wanted it to last forever. Esther's first Christmas was wonderful. Waking up and opening presents with her cousins...she loved it. We also made a gingerbread house, played on the swings, watched Matilda do magic tricks, put together Legos with Colt, looked for seaglass on the beach and ATE and ATE and ATE. (I'm afraid to even THINK about getting on a scale.) It was SO SO SO much fun. And for the icing on the cake...Esther crawled for the first time!!! And now being back home she has become SO much better at it. The animals are in TROUBLE!

Here's a video of Esther first crawling. Just click on the play button and you can witness the excitement for yourself. I will continue to update y'all as she gets better and better. ~ Kindra

The Word was God...the Word became human and lived among us.

This is going to be my last post before Christmas since we won't be home this year. Saturday, Steve, Esther and I are heading up to Morro Bay to spend Christmas with my brother, my sister-n-love, my niece and my nephew. We will all be together to celebrate Christ's birth for the first time in 7 years. I couldn't be more excited. Esther's first Christmas spent with her cousins!!!
But I wanted to share something. I know this time of year we all get SO caught up in shopping and baking and parties and wrapping gifts (I just did it today!!!) that I know sometimes we forget the main reason we celebrate this beautiful holiday....the birth of Jesus. So I just wanted to share an excerpt from this amazing book called Cosmic Christmas written by Max Lucado, from how he imagined that night. It's written from the view of Gabriel, one the angels present at the birth of Jesus. It touches my heart and soul every year and maybe it will do the same for you.
" So this is He. Immanel. So this is God's gift. A Savior. He shall save His people from their sins. "Worthy is the Lamb," I whispered, as I knelt before my God. My heart was full. I turned to Mary as she cradled her child and I spoke. It didn't matter that she couldn't hear me. The stars could. All of nature could. And most of all, my King could.
"So you know who you hold, Mary? You secure the Author of grace. He who is ageless is now moments old. He who is limitless is now suckling your milk. He who strides upon the stars, now has legs too weak to walk; the hands which held the oceans are now an infant's fist. To Him who has never asked a question, you will teach the name of the wind. The Source of language will learn words from you. He who has never stumbled, you will carry. He who has never hungered, you will feed. The King of creation is in your arms."
God became man so He could give Himself up as a sacrifice for us. What an amazing gift of love. May you feel my Savior's presence and love this Christmas. We love you all. Merry Christmas. ~ Kin

The Mission Inn

Last Thursday, our next "Christmas stop" was going to the Mission Inn's Festival of Lights (if you haven't gone..you GOTTA GO!!). I think it's the 5th year in a row we have gone. Steve did miss going last year because he was away in Mississippi, but this year things are back on. I love it there. With all the lights and music and yummy smells from vendors and the ice skating. It's just magical and it feels like Christmas. We walked around the hotel and Esther enjoyed the animated elves, angels and carolers and the hustle and bustle of people walking about. We then ate at Bella Trattoria, an outside italian bistro right at the hotel., wonderful food and GREAT service. One of these years, I wanna stay there during Christmas time. I know it's crazy pricey but a girl can dream can't she?? ~ Kin

Esther was happy to meet St. Nick, or was she??

One of the other things I did was take Esther to meet Santa. She was in good spirits and looked like it was going to be a wonderful time but after almost an hour of waiting, she was pretty much over it. It wasn't that she was afraid of him (and for the record, the best looking Santa EVER), but she was just ready for her nap. So it didn't turn out like mom wanted, but does it ever??? ~ Kin

Benedict Castle

Well this being Esther's first Christmas and all, we have been trying to do a lot of fun "christmasy" things. Our first Christmas outing was to Benedict Castle in Riverside. It was our first time there and it was SPECTACULAR!! It is currently home to Teen Challenge, a facility that helps teens and adults with addiction problems. Every year they decorate it and open it up to the public the Sunday after Thanksgiving. They give tours, have caroling and serve amazingly tasty cookies and hot chocolate. Esther even met a bear she liked. ~ Kin

From bird to puppy dog

His Calling and just followin'

As some of you may know, I have taken on the position of Coordinator of the MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) group at my church. I feel SO blessed to have this opportunity and I am SO thrilled and excited. But with all that excitement comes a bit of fear. I JUST joined this group in January and I don't know NEAR enough about things as everyone else on the team does and on top of that, I am a new mommy. Who am I to dictate what should be done or shouldn't be done? I have only been a "mother of a preschooler" for 7 1/2 months!!! But that's when I fall back on what I know as a daughter of Christ. He has definately CALLED me to this position and I desire to serve Him. So that is all I need to know. Period. I love what Corrie ten Boom (a Dutch Christian Holocaust survivor who helped many Jews escape the Nazis in World War II) wrote, " God said it, I believe it, that settles it. " No if, ands or buts.

I mean if we really think about it, who are we to do anything for God? We are just people; people who screw up time and time again, people who are not perfect and will never be for that matter. So that's when we rely on Him and trust that He will provide us with the strength we need. But hey, if you are thinking about the Crandell family....pray for us. This is a new journey and anything new can be stressful. And I know it's a BIG change for Steve (and remember, he HATES change), but he has been amazing. When I am on the phone or computer for longer than one should be or running around like a mad woman, he understands. I couldn't ask for a more supportive hushand. But I don't want to forget to put God and my family first. So please pray that I would keep things those 2 things a main priority. ~ Kin